


Changes

by keylimepie



Series: Charlotte 'Verse [13]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Domesticity in the Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural), F/M, Family Drama, M/M, Multi, Parenthood, Polyamory, Psychic Abilities
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2019-08-08 09:31:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16426826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keylimepie/pseuds/keylimepie
Summary: Life is getting different for Charlotte Winchester, with a baby brother getting into her stuff and middle school on the horizon. And that stuff is hard enough when you don't have three parents, one of whom is an archangel, and your whole family fights monsters. But something else is weird, more weird than the usual weird, and it might be more than the houseful of weirdness can handle.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh hahah look, I started another thing I have no idea how I'm going to finish. *wheezes* ... I think I'll never be free.

Gabriel was in a pickle. Quite a jam indeed. One might even leave off with the food metaphors and say he was up shit’s creek without a paddle. The point is, things were not going well for Gabriel. 

“I blame your hubris for this,” Castiel said, making things worse. Great, now even his little brother was ragging on him. “If you hadn’t been so cocky and self-assured, we never would have gotten trapped like this.” 

“Oh come on, Cassy. Whose side are you on anyway, huh? There’s no way I could have known that werewolves have been reading up on angelic binding runes,” he grumbled. The cuffs on his wrists were starting to chafe. Yet another side effect of the grace-binding of the runes, left him susceptible to ordinary human problems like chafing and sweating and being hungry and having to pee and a variety of other weird bodily functions that he didn’t even want to think about. And what kind of monsters would cuff both of his hands, behind his back? The chain was looped around a very strong pipe that ran into the floor and Gabriel was stuck sitting in front of it, which was not very comfortable and was very, very boring. “So, uh. You do this hunting thing all the time. What are we supposed to do now?” 

“Well I’ve never been in this precise situation before,” Castiel said. “Forgive me if I take a moment to devise a plan.” He leaned back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. The metal cuffing his wrist to the pipe running up the wall must be hurting him too, but he remained stoic and resigned. Gabriel, a few feet away, fidgeted some more before sighing dramatically. 

“You mean no one’s ever gotten Enochian cuffs on you before?” 

“Just Dean. It wasn’t this much of a problem.” 

Gabriel snickered. “Yeah I don’t think we’re gonna be able to safeword out of this.” He rubbed the toe of his sneaker against the crumbling concrete floor. 

“It seems rather unlikely that they’ll think to look here for us. We’ve left no breadcrumbs, I’m afraid,” Castiel said glumly. 

“I guess we could pray,” Gabriel said. “That should still work even if we’re basically human.” 

“And to whom would you suggest that we pray?” Castiel asked acerbically. 

“Well Daddy, for starters.” 

“Are you joking?” 

“Hey, he actually comes around now! True, maybe not all the time, but… I never stopped thinking he would, even when… anyway, we should try him.” 

“And when he doesn’t answer, then who do we try?” Castiel said. 

Gabriel shrugged. “What about your friend Hannah?” 

“She’s not a fan of my life choices,” Castiel said ruefully. “This is a common thread with any of our siblings. Haven’t you gotten any flak for your involvement with humans?” 

“Uhhh… yeah I don’t really… talk to other angels… so….” 

“Balthazar,” Cas said suddenly. “Of course. I’ll ask him.” 

“Wait!” Gabriel said, cocking his head. “Do you hear that?” It was frustrating to have to rely on human senses to figure things out. There were footsteps in the corridor outside, and voices. It sounded nothing like the werewolves’ stomping gaits and growling voices. These were soft, higher murmurs. “Is that-?” The doorknob rattled and then the door burst open. 

“Gabe! Cas!” Melanie gasped, rushing across the room toward them. Charlotte followed close behind. 

“What are you two doing here?” Gabriel barked, his wild eyes locking on Charlotte. “Get out, get her out of here, you’re both in danger and I can’t protect you!” 

“She lead me here,” Melanie said, dropping to her knees beside Gabriel. “She was screaming and crying, she said you were in trouble and we had to get you out.” She tugged at the cuffs on his wrist, making him wince in pain. 

“I saw this. I saw this place, and you guys...” Charlotte said. “Let me help you, Uncle Cas.” She mimicked Melanie’s movements, pulling at the cuff hoping to jostle it loose. 

“You can’t, the cuffs have Enochian sigils and the werewolves have the keys. They can’t be opened without the keys with the corresponding sigils.” 

They heard the sound of a diesel engine outside. It drove closer and closer, then shut off. 

“Mel, do you have any silver?” Gabriel asked. 

“Just salt rounds in the gun, and an ordinary blade,” she sighed. 

“She should take Lottie and head to the roof.” Cas said forcefully. 

“No good, they’ll smell her and follow anyway.” 

The tension in the room increased as they heard the loud, stompy footsteps on the stairs. Charlotte clawed frantically at the cuffs on Castiel’s wrist. With a frustrated squawk, she slapped her palm against one of the sigils. It glowed brightly for a moment and then disappeared. The cuff snapped free from Castiel’s wrist. 

Castiel leapt to his feet with a crackle of ozone as his grace rushed back in. His blade slid into his hand and he readied himself for battle. Charlotte scrambled over to Gabriel and tugged at the cuff on his wrist. 

“I knew I could do it, I just don’t know how I did,” she muttered, slapping at the sigils. Her green eyes flashed impatience. “Come on, come on!” Gabriel was too stunned at what had just happened to complain about the pain she was inflicting on his bruised wrists. Had the child actually broken Enochian sigils? 

Castiel was holding his own against the three werewolves. The trouble was that he could either fight them back, or smite them, but not both at the same time. And they kept getting close to the three vulnerable figures hunched on the floor. Melanie had her pistol in one hand and her knife in the other and had positioned herself in a crouch in front of Charlotte and Gabriel, in spite of Gabriel’s protests. Charlotte was pulling at the handcuffs with all her strength now, which was doing little more than make his sore wrists even sorer. Gabriel bit his lip. 

“Maybe you have to get mad at it,” he suggested. “A big slap.” 

He almost regretted giving that suggestion as her palms slapped down on his injured wrists. Gabriel whined. He was so caught up in how much that hurt that he almost failed to notice the cuffs springing free. 

“Little help here?” Castiel grumbled. Just a few feet away he had a werewolf in a headlock. Melanie had picked up a broken mop handle from the floor and was holding back the other two, but barely. 

“Oh crap!” Gabriel said, shaking his wrists. He cracked his knuckles and then stood up and stalked over to the werewolf under Cas’s arm. 

“Bad dog,” he said, pressing his fingers to the creature’s forehead. Light spilled out, there was a scream, and the werewolf collapsed. Gabriel then whirled around and grabbed the one that was lunging at Melanie, while Castiel took out the third. 

In the sudden stillness of the warehouse, the three of them turned to look at Charlotte. She looked so small and scared, just a normal little girl. 

“Lottie…” Gabriel said, walking toward her. 

“I know, Gabe,” she said, her voice quivering. “I know I shouldn’t have been able to do any of that.” 

He dropped to sit on the floor and pull her into his lap as she started crying. “Shh, shh,” he whispered soothingly, patting her hair. Castiel looked on for a moment then moved to silently drag the werewolves’ bodies off for burning. Melanie stood uncertainly nearby. She wanted to go to Charlotte, but she felt that Gabriel was better suited to what needed to be done here, both the comforting and the getting answers. 

When Charlotte finally stopped crying, she straightened up a little and leaned back against Gabriel’s chest. “Do you know what’s wrong with me?” she asked. 

“Hey. There’s nothing wrong with you, Pipsqueak. There are just things we don’t know about you,” he said, squeezing her hands gently. Melanie crouched down beside them and patted Charlotte’s cheek. 

“Am I human?” Charlotte asked. 

Gabriel drew in a deep breath. “I don’t… I don’t know for sure, sweetie, but… I think maybe not entirely. You clearly have some of Sam’s gift. But it’s something else, too.” 

“You didn’t completely fix it. All those years ago,” Melanie said. “What those angels did-” 

“Yes I did,” Gabriel insisted testily. “That’s not what this is.” 

“Well if you’re so sure about that then why don’t you know-” She huffed angrily as her phone rang in her pocket. It was Sam’s ringtone, and she pulled it out and answered it with a snapped “Yeah?” 

“Uh, hey. Sorry, I just was wondering if you could pick up some more bananas if you haven’t left the store yet. The baby just polished off the last one. Hey, is everything okay? You sound…” he trailed off. 

“Not exactly. I mean… it’s under control now. We’ll be heading home soon, I think,” she said tiredly. 

“Sorry to hear… look, I’ll go ahead and mash him up some avocado. He likes that, too.” Melanie could hear the baby cooing and chattering in the background. “Love you, babe. Give Lottie a kiss from us.” 

“I love you too, Sam,” she said. “See you soon.” She hung up the phone and put it away as Castiel returned from outside. A plume of smoke was visible from the window. 

“Is Charlotte alright?” Castiel asked. 

“I’m fine,” she snapped. “Can we stop talking about it?” 

“For now,” Gabriel said mildly. “Cas is only asking because he cares about you, kiddo.” 

“I just… ugh,” she said, flailing her hands. “Mommy can we please just go home?” She crawled out of Gabriel’s lap and stood next to Melanie and held her hand. 

“My van is outside. Do you guys want to come for the drive with us?” Melanie asked. Cas and Gabriel exchanged a look. Charlotte should be monitored, they agreed. 

“Yes, but we need to gather the werewolves’ arsenal and take it with us back to the bunker. These things shouldn’t be left for some other monster to make off with.” Castiel picked up the sets of handcuffs. Gabriel found a box and tossed things from a nearby desk into it: books, spell ingredients, weapons, and a DVD of Hot Tub Time Machine. 

Between them all, they were able to carry all the questionable items out to the car in one trip. Castiel settled into the passenger seat, and Gabriel sat behind Mel, next to Charlotte. 

“So, uh. Grocery store, huh? Get anything good?” Gabriel asked. 

“No,” Charlotte said, staring out the window. 

“Huh. Well, did you play outside today? Looks like it was a good day for the kite.” 

“You suck at small talk,” she sighed. 

Gabriel made a face and exhaled sharply. “Tough crowd.” 

“Why don’t you just ask me all the real questions and scan me and poke my soul and read my brain and-” 

“Hey!” Gabriel squawked loudly. “Lottie, I would never-” 

“Ugh, whatever! I know you want to know what’s happening to me. Well I had other- I saw things, things before they happened. Didn’t tell anyone, cause it wasn’t important stuff. But the thing is, every time it happens, the stuff happens.” 

“How often do you have these visions?” Castiel asked. 

“Two other times. Couple months ago? And then this today.” 

“And it’s always just before the things happen?” Melanie asked. 

“Pretty quick, yeah.” 

Gabriel nodded. “You’re not in your booster seat anymore.” 

“I thought you were gonna quit with the small talk,” Charlotte grumbled. 

“She grew five inches this summer. She’s tall enough now,” Melanie said. “Nearly as tall as me.” 

“Big growth spurt, lots of changes. You’re a genuine tween now, Pipsqueak - and don’t think I won’t call you that, even when you’re as tall as your Dad. Lotta things changing about you. Often when psychic visions start for human kids.” He tilted his head and looked at her. “And no matter what anyone tries to tell you, there is nothing wrong with having psychic visions. It happens to a lot of humans, ordinary humans everywhere. We’ll help you learn to manage it, I promise.” 

“It’s really the ability to de-power the sigils that is unusual and concerning,” Castiel added helpfully. 

“Yeah, was gonna save that part for later, Cassy,” Gabriel hissed under his breath. “Whatever. We’ll figure it out guys. It’ll keep until we get home, unload the groceries, get a baby cuddle fix.” He reached over and patted Charlotte’s shoulder. “Okay?” 

She gave him a small half smile and nodded. He grinned back and booped her nose. He twisted his hand around theatrically in front of her face and when he turned his palm up, there was a Twix sitting in it. She snatched it eagerly and spent the rest of the drive home slowly nibbling on the candy. 


	2. Chapter 2

Dean threw the last of the duffel bags into the trunk and shut the lid. “All set, kid?” he asked. It was a crisp fall evening in Indiana, chilly breezes whipping leaves and debris around the parking lot of the motel and diner combo. The Impala was warm to the touch; it had sat all day basking in the sun, which was now setting in a riot of pink and orange. 

Bailey nodded. “Key’s returned and we’re good to go.” They gave Dean a thumbs-up. A soft knitted hat was slouched over their choppy blond hair, and they wore an oversized hoodie, striped leggings, and rubber rain boots. A tiny silver hoop graced the kid’s left nostril now, much to Dean’s chagrin. He’d lost that parental debate and he still felt annoyed every time he looked at it. But the brightness of Bailey’s smile went a long way toward soothing that. Kid was getting tall, and smart, and mostly listened to him, so Dean figured maybe he wasn’t doing too badly at this after all. 

“Awesome. Hop in, I gotta call Cas and then we can hit the road.” 

Bailey climbed into the passenger seat of the Impala and pulled out their phone, no doubt to stare at the screen and giggle for the next twelve hours. Dean put his hand on the door handle to get in the car, but then shook his head and walked over toward the edge of the parking lot instead. Maybe a nice little private conversation with Cas. It’d been over a week since he’d set out on this hunt, and he missed the angel terribly. Hopefully he could pull off this overnight drive in time to climb into bed with Cas in the morning. Not that Cas would even be in bed if he wasn’t there, but maybe he could drag him there. 

“Dean?” said Cas. His voice was rough, even rougher than usual. 

“Hey baby. You sound stressed, what’s up?” Dean said. Without waiting for a reply, he continued. “Bailey and me just wrapped up this case last night. Sorry I didn’t call, we crashed out hard afterwards. What a wild ride! Kid’s good, though. Still not sure I like this, but if they’re gonna do it, least we can do is provide a good education, you know? So what’s up with you, angel? Can’t wait ‘til I get back there and help you deal with all that tension… maybe start with a massage, you know you like that… kiss my way down your neck while I rub-” 

“Aww, how sweet!” crooned Gabriel’s voice. 

“Oh jeez, you two,” Melanie sighed. 

“Ugh, really?” chimed in Sam. 

“Aaaaugh why are grown-ups _so gross?_ ” Charlotte wailed. 

“Castiel,” said Dean very calmly. “Am I on speaker with the whole family?” 

“Um,” Cas replied. He glanced at the blanketed bundle in Gabriel’s arms, only a tuft of blond fuzz sticking out. “Well, uh, the baby is asleep.” 

“Dammit, Cas!” Dean exclaimed, running his hand through his hair and blushing. He glanced to the car. Bailey was smirking as if they knew somehow, too. 

“Sorry- sorry Dean, it’s been a trying day, what with being captured and imprisoned and-” 

“Wait, what?” Dean exclaimed, his embarrassment quickly forgotten. “What happened? I thought you and Gabe were just gonna run a quick ‘not-a-hunt’ monster cleanup mission. So Mister High and Mighty Woohoo I’m in Charge of Heaven While Daddy Runs Off Again couldn’t even keep you safe on a dumbass monster hunt?” 

“I can hear you,” Gabriel pointed out, a little too loudly as the baby started to stir in his arms, one foot in a green sock emerging from the blanket to dangle down. Gabriel tucked the child closer and began to pace around the table, bouncing him gently. The bundle made a contented sigh and began to snore lightly again. 

“Oh good, at least you can do something,” Dean retorted. “So what did you let happen to my husband?” 

“I’m fine, Dean,” Cas sighed, shooting Gabriel an apologetic look. “And that’s not the point, it’s…” he trailed off, uncertain how to explain it. “It’s better if you just get home and we’ll discuss the problem in person.” 

“Is- is everyone in one piece?” Dean said. 

“Yes, we’re all restored from the battle wounds we sustained, we are all home safely, and… we’ll talk when you get here. I love you. Drive safely.” 

“Love you too, babe,” Dean said, clicking the phone off. 

“I don’t like telling him,” Melanie said. There was an open book in front of her, a volume of ancient Hebrew angel lore, and she flipped through the pages as she chewed on a pencil. Her hair was wound up in a messy bun skewered with an antique pen stylus, a wild halo of curls escaping all around. Sam sat to her right, rapidly typing on his laptop, with Charlotte sitting on his lap. Across the table, Cas sat, browsing through his own stack of books. Gabriel stood nearby, trying to keep the baby asleep. He’d been teething and cranky the last few days, and Gabriel had proven to be best at providing the right balance of motion and calmness to keep him soothed. 

“We cannot keep this from Dean,” Castiel said firmly. 

“Cas is right,” Sam said. “It’s- I know, what happened last time was scary, but… it’s different now.” 

Charlotte looked absolutely miserable. “I don’t really remember everything that happened when I was little. But I do remember that Uncle Dean didn’t like me when he thought I was a freak. I don’t want him to not like me again.” She looked at Cas. “And you… you were afraid of me. I was so angry… I didn’t like being bad or being angry but I couldn’t stop. Now I’m just sad.” She twisted around and pressed her face into Sam’s chest as she dissolved into tears. Sam swallowed thickly, fighting back tears of his own as he hugged her tightly. 

“Charlotte…” Castiel said, leaning forward, his face serious. “What you experienced when you were small was not your fault, and it was not that you were bad in any way. Some people- some angels- did something to you that gave you powers that you didn’t understand and couldn’t control very well. I was slightly injured in that process, but I was fine in the end - any fear I had was of what those powers could do, not of you. Dean was… Dean didn’t know what was happening and… I don’t want to make excuses for his reaction, but I know that Dean loves you and he will be concerned for your well-being.” 

Charlotte snuggled closer to Sam. “Thanks, Uncle Cas,” she sniffled. 

“Do you think this could have been a fallen angel?” Sam said, gesturing to the laptop screen. “Get this. It’s a local legend from a town in North Carolina. A woman suddenly came to town and set up a practice as a healer, just after the Revolutionary War. Hedge witch type thing, it almost seems. But there were many miracles recorded in her care. They even called her Saint Sarah. Sarie, rather.” 

Castiel frowned. “An angel could certainly come to Earth and do that, but I don’t know-” 

“Sariel,” said Gabriel. “Sariel, she’s missing. She was one of Raphael’s faves.” 

“Lost in battle, I thought,” said Cas. “But even if this was an angel performing miracles, what would that have to do with-” 

“I was getting to that,” Sam said irritably. “Here’s the thing. She lived with people… sort of like a… religious retreat? Convent kind of thing? So the people who lived with her helped out in caring for the sick and stuff too. Went out and helped the needy. Traveled to other nearby towns and helped there. And people who had been part of her group for a time, they began to be able to do their own miracles too.” 

“Like how?” said Gabriel. 

“It doesn’t really say much,” Sam admitted. “It’s a legend, not a lot of details.” 

“So wait,” said Melanie. “Are you seriously suggesting that hanging out with an angel can start to give people powers? Because I think that you and Dean should be way ahead of the game in that case.” 

“It’s just an idea to investigate,” said Sam. “Maybe it doesn’t affect everyone, you know?” 

“We’ll look into that more, but I think we should also keep looking for other answers,” Gabriel said. He glanced up to the ceiling again, as he’d been doing all evening. 

“It’s getting late,” Melanie said. “Charlotte should get some sleep.” 

“I don’t want to go to my room alone,” Charlotte said She hugged Sam tighter. “And I’m scared to sleep.” 

“Will you come lay down with me and tell me about school today?” Sam asked. 

“Okay, fine,” she said. 

Baby Ethan emitted a wail and began to squirm in earnest. “Right on cue,” Gabriel said. “Okay, little man, chill out. It’s all good. All good.” He shifted the baby upright and freed him from the blanket, which was tangled around his arms. The sobs slowed and choked to a little hiccup. He blinked and looked around the room, as if surprised to be awake. “Hey buddy,” Gabriel said softly. “Good nap?” Ethan made a little cooing noise and stuck his fist into his mouth. “Still with the teeth, eh?” 

“I’ve got his chewy,” Melanie said, picking up a brightly-colored teething toy and walking over to where Gabriel stood. “Here you go sweetie, try this?” She handed him the toy and leaned in to kiss his forehead. The baby stuck it in his mouth and gnawed at it. 

Charlotte sighed loudly. “Well goodnight I guess,” she said, heading toward the hallway. “If anyone remembers me.” 

“Oh, Lottie!” Melanie exclaimed sadly. “Sorry, lovie.” She turned and bent down to give Charlotte a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Sleep well, okay?” 

“Good night, kiddo,” said Gabriel, tucking the baby onto his hip and leaning in to give her a half-hug and kiss the top of her head. Ethan wiggled eagerly at the sight of his sister, and Charlotte grinned and patted his cheek. 

“Night Gabe. Night Baby. Night Cas,” she called as she went down the hallway, followed by Sam. 

Ethan whimpered and reached out his hands toward Melanie. Gabriel passed the baby over to her and she sat down, opened her shirt, and brought him in to nurse, the motions so practiced she could do it on autopilot. He wiggled happily, watching his mother’s face. 

In Charlotte’s room, Sam sat at her desk, waiting for her to return from putting on her pajamas and brushing her teeth. He glanced through the messy pile of books and papers and trinkets. There was a stack of books about magic kittens and fairies, coloring books, and a boxed kit for learning origami. Sam flipped carefully through the papers. Schoolwork, drawings, random writings. The other surfaces of the room, the dresser, side tables, bookcase, were all similarly maintained. It was a constant struggle between Melanie and Charlotte, but Sam didn’t mind very much. Charlotte’s clutter felt like a little glimpse into her brain. 

Charlotte returned and climbed into bed, pausing to wind up her music box before she let Sam tuck her in. Once she was settled, he laid down carefully next to her. 

“So, what’s the news from school? Did Rosie get in trouble for the frog incident?” 

Charlotte giggled. “Well. When we got there this morning…” she relayed the whole story to him, and then launched into several more tidbits of gossip from her class. Gradually, her yawns became more frequent, her words a little slower, and then she finally fell asleep mid-sentence. Sam, however, had fallen asleep shortly before she did. They snored on in tandem. 

Melanie got the baby back to sleep and laid him down in his crib. A nursery had been arranged in the room next door to theirs, with the addition of a door between the rooms making things a little bit easier. Gabriel looked up from his book as she walked back into the room. 

“Is this the part where we have ‘ahhh I’m so glad we’re both alive’ sex yet?” He set the book on the nightstand and watched her eagerly as she changed into pajamas. 

Melanie laughed. “Were we supposed to? That’s usually more of an immediate thing. Adrenaline rush and all that.” She crawled under the covers. “I just don’t think I could focus right now… sorry...” 

“Pfft, no need to be sorry. Is it okay if I hold you?” She nodded and nestled against him and he brought one arm around her, resting his hand on the curve of her hip. There was a rustle, and the barely-there tingle of feathers against her skin. Melanie snorted. 

“Are you holding me with your wings?” she asked, moving her head to look up at him. His eyes glinted with mischief. 

“Why not? Leaves my hand free to hold my book.” Indeed, he had picked the novel back up and was thumbing through the pages one handed. “Unless, um. I mean, I’m sorry, did… do you need my undivided attention?” 

“Kind of?” she said. “I’m scared, I’m upset, I’m exhausted, and I’m just barely keeping it together.” 

“Let me help you sleep,” he offered, stroking her hair. “While you get your snooze on, I’m going to head up to the ol’ office and see if I can dig up any info-” 

Melanie sat up suddenly and turned to look at him. “Do _not_ let any of those assholes know anything about-” 

He bristled. “Do I look stupid to you?” 

“No! No, sorry, I-” she flailed her hands hopelessly. 

“It’s okay,” he said, catching her hand and kissing it. “But no. I’m going to _surreptitiously_ dig through some stuff. And, uh. I’m going to see if… I don’t know if you’ve tried calling Daddy- ah, Chuck, that is…” 

“Constantly. Both prayer and his cell phone. I even had my dad go drive by the house. He says everything looks okay there but there’s a lot of mail and newspapers on the porch.” 

“Fuck.” 

“Yeah. I can’t believe he would just abandon her… I mean, Charlotte, of all people...” 

Gabriel sighed. “Been going back and forth on that for centuries, babe. Doesn’t Dad love me? Why would he let this happen? Wait, no, but maybe it’s a big plan. Of course he loves me. Back and forth, in my head, forever.” 

“Yeah well I think I’m converting to Buddhism,” Melanie sulked. 

“Can I recommend Gabrielism? You can rub my tummy… or whatever else you’d like. I can guarantee good luck. That is to say, it rhymes with...” He waggled his eyebrows. 

“You’re incorrigible,” she said, though she couldn’t help grinning. 

* 

Several hours later, Sam woke up. He was stretched out on Charlotte’s bed, his feet hanging off the edge. Next to him, Charlotte was sleeping peacefully, one arm flung up over her head. Sam pressed a kiss to his fingertips and touched it against her temple, then stood up and tiptoed out of the room. 

He peeked in the nursery first. Baby Ethan was sleeping soundly, too. He was snuggly zipped into fleece footie pajamas with turtles printed on them. His binkie was clutched in his fist and his blankie, a little fleece and flannel square with tags of silky ribbon all around it, tucked under his other arm. Sam blew him a kiss as well, and slipped through the door into the bedroom. 

Melanie was alone in the bed. Sam sighed. He’d been hoping to cuddle both of them, but he just crawled into the bed and spooned up behind her. Melanie didn’t stir. 

* 

It was nearly dawn when Dean and Bailey got home. They clattered down the steps and found Cas sitting at the table, researching. He got up and went to meet them when they walked in, and Dean swept him into a tight embrace. 

“You’re okay?” Dean said, cupping his face. 

“Of course I am, Dean.” He gave Dean a quick kiss, then pulled away and gave Bailey a hug. “I’ve missed you both.” 

“Missed you too, Cas,” Bailey said, burying their face in the familiar smell of his trench coat. “But I’m awful tired right now.” 

“Of course you are, sweetie,” Cas murmured. “I’m sure Dean didn’t stop to rest at all. Come on, let me tuck you in.” He squeezed Bailey’s shoulder and steered them toward the hallway. “I’ll be right back, Dean.” 

“Coulda slept just fine in the car if you’d stop looking at memes for five minutes,” Dean grumbled under his breath as they walked away. “There better be pie left in the fridge.” He rubbed at his forearm and walked toward the kitchen. 

Charlotte was seated at the table. Her pigtails were distressed in messy bed-head, and she was clad in pink plaid pajamas and slippers that looked like raccoons. She had a pie dish in front of her and was poking at the last of the peach pie with a fork. 

“Uncle Dean,” she said, grinning. “You’re home!” 

“Sure am,” he said. “Why are you up, Princess?” 

She pushed the pie plate towards him. “Bad dreams,” she sighed. “So I came for a snack.” She gestured to the package of peanut butter cookies and a bag of chocolate covered pretzels also on the table. “But you can have the pie.” 

“Aww,” Dean said, shoveling pie into his mouth. “Fank you.” He gulped. “So, uh. Dreams, huh?” 

“Do not want to talk about,” she said firmly, dipping a cookie into her cup of milk. “How was your hunt? Did Bailey get to shoot anything? Were there guts?” 

“What? Ew. No, no… jeez kid, what has Bailey been telling you? No, Bailey mostly got to dig lots of holes with a shovel.” He popped another forkful of pie into his mouth, then set his fork down and rubbed at his forearm and wrist. “Shit.” 

“Did you get hurt?” she asked, her face going all frowny in concern. 

“You look just like your dad when you look at me like that. Yeah, I probably sprained it, no biggie.” He studied the wrist, which was swollen and bruised faintly. “I’ve had worse.” 

“Poor Dean,” Charlotte said sympathetically. She placed her hand gently on the affected spot. “Your bone is cracked. Just a little. It needs to grow back together though.” She closed her eyes and Dean felt the unmistakable tingle of angelic healing. He stared at her in shock. 

“What- you- this had better be Gabriel fucking with me! I don’t know what I did to you, man, but-” 

“Gabe’s not even home,” Charlotte sighed. “It’s me. It’s Lottie.” 

“I did tell you on the phone earlier that there’s a situation developing,” Castiel said from the doorway. He crossed the room and stood behind Dean, putting his hands on his shoulders. “I was going to wait until everyone is up.” 

“So we can all sit around the library and stare at Charlotte like she’s a weirdo gross bug or something,” Charlotte said bitterly. “No thank you ma’am. I’m going back to bed. Wake me up when you all want to leave me alone.” She stood up and stalked toward the doorway. 

Castiel frowned. “That doesn’t even…” 

“It’s okay, Princess. Get some sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow,” Dean called out after her. He reached up and squeezed Cas’s hand where it rested on his shoulder. “Make a pot of coffee, Cas. I get the feeling this is gonna be a long one.” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote most of this one a few weeks ago and it's been bugging me. Sorry.

Gabriel spun around in his chair. The dreary white walls flashed by as he spun over and over. His legs were crossed, tucked up in the seat, and he leaned back, enjoying the vertigo of the ride. 

“Uhh… Sir… it’s a little, um, distracting to read you these reports while you’re… rotating,” said the angel standing primly in front of him. 

“Hmph,” Gabriel said. He stopped. “Well I guess we’d better get through it. Keep going, I’ll hold still.” 

‘Hold still’ was a relative term as far as Gabriel was concerned. The Heaven management duties that his Father had saddled him with before buggering off again were way too boring to be dealt with without some other form of distraction. Within a few minutes, Gabriel was patting his pockets. He pulled out the spinning contraption of Sam’s and balanced it on his finger. Okay, that would do. The device whirled around as he watched it. 

Noeyiel frowned, clearly annoyed by this as well, but she continued reading him the daily briefings. At the end, she tucked the papers back into the folder in her hand and stood there scowling. “Would you like me to read them again?” ‘and this time you could pay attention’ was the unspoken end of that sentence. Gabriel smirked. 

“Nope, got it. You need to get Lorah and Nathaniel off soul patrol duty, first off. They’d be much better suited to the new babies gig; they suck at security. Don’t phrase it like that, obviously. They mean well. Take a few from the incoming prayer room and train them. Meanwhile, recruit another contingent… oh, who’s the best commander these days? I want a dedicated demon patrol. On Earth. Someone we can trust, and I want a close eye kept on them all the same. Accountability, you know.” 

Noeyiel frowned. “We don’t really do that anymore. Father wanted less involvement on the Earth.” 

“Was that the same Father who breezed through here last year, dragged me up here, gave me this office, and told you in strictest confidence that I was in charge in his absence?” 

“Yes, of course, sorry Sir I just…” 

“Look, I get your reluctance, and don’t ever be afraid to argue with me, kid. I need that. I think the thing is, we need to kinda meet in the middle here. Early Dad was way too happy to send us to Earth for every little thing - you were in diapers then, metaphorically, but I remember it well. More recent Dad was completely out of touch. Now we’re gonna strike the balance. So, we’re gonna keep an eye on demonic activity. It’s our job; this shouldn’t be left to human hunters to try to keep this crap in check.” Noeyiel nodded, but he could see that she was still struggling to process it. Give her time. “Speaking of Dad… any news on that front? Has he checked in at all?” 

“Haven’t heard anything, Sir,” she said. “But then again, I’m not sure I would if… especially since everyone else thinks he’s the one I’m speaking to in this office, not you.” 

“Huh. Good point, I guess. Well if that’s all the fresh news today, I’ve got a few other thing to check into. You’re free to go get that stuff done. And hey, remember. Daddy chose you to be my go-between for a reason. You’re bright and trustworthy. I have a lot of faith in you, kiddo.” Impulsively, he sprung up from the chair, caught the girl in a half-hug around the shoulders, and ruffled her hair playfully. She blinked up at him in bewilderment, then a grin crept across her face. She gave Gabriel a quick hug and scampered out of the office. 

Gabriel wandered down to the archive room, slinking through the hallways disguised as a chubby, naked Cupid. He didn’t know what he was looking for, only that he hoped that he’d stumble upon something. He wandered through, pulling open drawers and reading papers and files. “I can’t believe we don’t have a searchable index by topic,” he muttered. “Melanie and Sam would have this place catalogued in no time.” 

His search yielded nothing that seemed connected to Charlotte’s condition. He read case files on a variety of psychic humans, nothing quite matched. He dug through the angels’ files, reading up on Sariel. Last seen in the 17th century, disappeared on patrol duty over Spain. Gabriel frowned. That part was weird; there shouldn’t have been random Earth patrols in that era, from what he understood. He brought that file back to his office to put on his desk for reading later. 

“I need pictures on these walls,” he said thoughtfully to himself. Next time, he’d bring an assortment of Charlotte’s drawings. Maybe Bailey could spare him a few sketches too. The kid had recently branched out from sharks into other creatures, but really he’d take anything that reminded him of home. Huh. Yeah, there was no way this job was going to feel like home, not without his family here and none of his siblings save Noeyiel and Castiel even knowing that he was around. Time to punch the clock for the day. He grabbed his leather jacket off the coat hook and slung it over his shoulder, and flew back to Earth. 

The bunker was quiet in the early morning. He could sense that Dean and Bailey had returned. Castiel shoved his grace firmly away when he poked at him, a sure sign that Dean and Cas were getting it on. He peeked in on all the kids. Sleeping, no nightmares, nothing urgent. He made it to the bedroom and found Sam and Mel in a post-coital tangle. He could still taste the pheromones in the air. 

“You’re late,” Sam said chidingly. He was splayed back against the sheets, gloriously naked and sweaty. Melanie was curled up against his side, mostly covered with the sheet, her hand tracing idly over his abs. 

“I see this,” Gabriel said, tossing his coat on the chair. “Really wish I’d been here. Anyone up for seconds?” 

“Jump in the middle, we’ll figure something out,” said Melanie. Gabriel didn’t have to be told twice. He banished his clothes and dove between them. Sam kissed him and slid his hands from his knee up his thigh. Melanie kissed his collarbone and flicked her fingers over his nipples. Gabriel sighed happily. This was exactly what he needed, just to be the center of his lovers’ attention right now. Melanie’s hand was gliding down his stomach, Sam’s was creeping up his thigh, pretty soon they were going to meet in the mi- 

A thin reedy wail erupted from the adjoining room. Gabriel groaned. Why, why now? Every time, it seemed. 

“I got this one,” Melanie said. “Go ahead, you two.” She slid off the bed and pulled on her robe and went into the nursery. 

Ethan was all smiles as soon as she went into the room, standing up in the crib and bouncing excitedly. “There’s my boy,” she said cheerily. She changed his diaper, put fresh clothes on him, and sat down in the rocker to nurse him. “This might be my favorite part of the day, you know,” she said to him. He just stared at her face and patted her chest with his little hand. She smoothed her hand over the blond fluff on his head. His eye color was shifting, the blue almost gone, flecks of pale golden brown taking over. In this in between stage, his eyes looked more like Sam’s than anything. Apart from that, he still looked exactly like Gabriel. 

In the kitchen, she popped Ethan into the high chair and bustled around, getting him some breakfast. Chopped up honeydew melon, ripe and soft enough for him to gum at with his few teeth. Oatmeal with a touch of maple syrup, which Ethan immediately began to stuff in his mouth by the fistful. Melanie giggled as she watched him. 

She went to start a new pot of coffee but she realized that it was still hot and fairly fresh. Someone had been up in the last few hours. She poured herself a cup and sat down to a huge bowl of oatmeal for herself, loaded with pecans and blueberries. 

She was scraping the last bits from the bowl when Dean wandered into the kitchen. She tensed up, though she tried to keep her face neutral. 

“Hey sis,” he said, topping off his coffee cup. “Cas caught me up to speed. Uh, the Lottie stuff.” He poked at the pot of oatmeal on the stove, made a face, then dug a package of bacon from the fridge. 

“Thoughts?” she asked. 

“Some dickbag angels did something to her again, I’m betting. I’m going to investigate her school. Me and Cas. Gotta be something going on there. No other way they could get to her.” He turned the stove on under the large skillet and started laying strips of bacon in it. 

“You know, that’s a good idea.” She poured a splash of apple juice and some water into a sippy cup and put it on the high chair tray. Ethan grabbed it eagerly with oatmeal-sticky hands. 

“She’s, uh. I actually talked to her this morning, and… she’s not taking this well, is she?” He sighed deeply. “Kinda worried about her, you know? Not just… I mean, I know that whatever this is, we’ll figure it out and she’ll be fine. ‘S what we do. But, like, her feelings and stuff…” 

“Might not be your strong point Dean, but I think I can manage to emotionally support my daughter even if everyone else fails her.” 

“Come on Mel, I’m trying to help here,” he growled in frustration, stabbing angrily at the bacon. “You know I care about that kid.” 

“Then maybe make sure she knows that.” 

“What the hell else am I supposed to do?” Dean was genuinely baffled. He thought he had a great relationship with his niece. They did fun stuff together, he was affectionate. It was like the fun of having little kid Sam again without any of the responsibility this time. 

Castiel shuffled into the kitchen, rumpled and messy-haired, in Dean’s t-shirt and sweats. Sam and Gabriel followed soon afterward. Sam’s hair was shower-damp, and Gabriel was neat and polished in a fresh collared shirt with tiny flamingoes printed all over it, distressed baggy jeans, and black boots. His hair was long enough to just curl at his collar, and he’d left his face unshaven for a few days now, giving him a rugged look. 

“You look like crap, Gabe,” Dean commented over his shoulder. Gabriel darted around the other side of him and snatched a piece of crisp bacon right out of the frying pan with his fingers. 

“Right back atcha, Dean-O,” he replied. He poured a mug of maple syrup, which he began dunking the bacon into. 

“Come on, you two,” Sam protested. “No one needs this today.” 

“You could tell your boyfriend to shave. He looks like a hippie,” Dean grumbled. 

“Don’t take out your pissiness at me on him,” Melanie said, but Gabriel was already talking overtop of her. 

“Your brother sure likes it on his inner thighs,” Gabriel taunted, staring Dean down. 

“Gabe, stop it,” Sam said. “Seriously.” 

“I hate you all,” Dean muttered. “And here I was cooking you assholes breakfast.” 

“What did I do?” Sam protested. “I’m over here telling him to stop! I deserve breakfast!” 

“I haven’t even said anything,” Castiel added. 

“I did not mean you, babe,” Dean said firmly. 

Ethan had been watching the bickering adults with some amusement, though he was starting to become bored with his breakfast. He’d dropped a few handfuls of smooshed melon off the side of his tray, but that wasn’t quite doing it. He picked up a biggish chunk of the fruit and tossed it with his chubby little fist. It splatted onto Gabriel’s cheek. At the surprised look on the archangel’s face, Dean burst out laughing. 

“Oh, that was epic. High five, my man!” Dean said to the baby. He stepped closer to the high chair, gently lifted the baby’s hand in the air and smushed his own palm against it. Ethan gave Dean a gummy smile. “Good boy!” Dean grabbed a nearby dishtowel and started wiping the food from the baby’s face and hands while Sam whisked the messy tray to the sink. Gabriel watched with amusement, grabbing two more slices of bacon while no one was paying attention. After dunking and eating them, he drank the rest of the syrup. 

“Good, there’s coffee,” said Bailey’s bleary voice from the doorway. They poured themself a cup and proceeded to add five spoons of sugar, cream, and whipped cream on top. “You people are loud.” 

Dean had the cleaned-up baby on his hip now, bouncing him gently up and down while Melanie finished cooking the bacon and frying eggs. “Yeah, he’s just a baby though, Kid, ya can’t be holding it against him,” Dean said. 

Charlotte came into the kitchen just as everyone else was grabbing their plates and heading toward the war room. She nuzzled into Melanie’s side, and Melanie kissed the top of her hair. 

“Sleep well, baby?” 

“Eh.” 

“Want some eggs? Bacon? Oatmeal?” 

“I guess so.” She poured herself a glass of milk while Melanie fixed her a plate, and they walked toward the war room together. 

Dean sat towards the farthest end of the table, enthusiastically shoveling food into his mouth. Cas sat across from him, sipping coffee and watching him with fond eyes. Bailey sat on Cas’s other side, carefully stacking their ketchup-drenched eggs on English muffins before stuffing them into their mouth. Sam picked at scrambled egg, bacon, and sliced melon, though he was more engrossed in scrolling through his tablet. Gabriel was sitting on the floor, playing peek-a-boo with Ethan and occasionally poking Sam’s butt through the space in the back of the chair, then feigning innocence every time Sam turned around. Charlotte climbed into the seat next to Bailey eagerly, and Melanie took the opportunity to finally slip off to shower and get dressed. 

When she returned, Sam and Bailey were at the chess table, Sam instructing Bailey on chess strategy. Cas had resumed his position at the stack of angelic lore books. Dean was sitting in one of the wingback chairs, Charlotte in his lap. She was leaned back against his shoulder and he was telling her a story, quite animatedly, some mildly embarrassing tale of Sam’s youth. Charlotte was giggling and squirming with delight at it. Melanie sighed and made a mental note to apologize to Dean. Again. 

She wandered down the hallway and found Gabriel in the nursery, rocking Ethan and singing softly to him in Enochian. She stood in the doorway and listened to the lullaby. When the baby had dozed off, Gabriel laid him carefully in the crib and turned toward her. Their eyes met and she felt that same old flutter in her stomach, just as strong as the first time she’d seen him. He stepped forward to sweep her into his arms and kiss her. Before she knew what was happening he had her pinned up against the bedroom wall and was grinding against her. His lips trailed down to her earlobe and then her neck. Melanie whimpered. Oh, how she wanted this. 

“Missed you this morning” he murmured against her throat. “Sam was sucking me off and I really wished you were sitting on my face.” He dropped suddenly to his knees and pulled her skirt up, hooked his thumbs around her panties and slid them down to her ankles. He grabbed her hips and buried his face into her pussy, his tongue flicking at her clit. 

“Oh wow,” she gasped. Her legs trembled, and he lifted them up onto his shoulders. The stubble against her delicate skin was deliciously scratchy, and she was glad that he still hadn’t found the time to shave, or magic it away, or whatever it was that he did. She could feel the soft tingle of feathers against her body, holding her steady against the wall, and Gabriel’s hands caressed over her thighs and stomach as he licked into her. “Gabriel, honey, oh that’s good,” she moaned. His tongue poked and prodded her everywhere, then settled back on circling her clit again. A few moments of this, and then he shifted away to kiss and suck her skin in less intense places; the crease of her thigh, and her stomach. He grinned up at her with his face slick with her juices, winked, and then attacked her clit again. Over and over, intense stimulation and then teasing elsewhere. 

“Make me cum,” she whimpered at last. “ _Gabe._ ” 

He relented, and laved at her button with wide, flat strokes. Melanie grabbed his hair and pulled, pulled him closer as she ground against him. Her heels dug into his back, and she heard the rustle and felt more pressure - was that the other wings? She wasn’t sure how that worked - to keep her from toppling over as she tensed and spasmed through her orgasm. 

When she was steady enough again, Gabriel carefully placed her feet back on the floor and stood up. He wiped his face on the back of his hand, though it made little difference. His face was drenched, nose to chin, dripping onto his collar. Another swipe, and then he shrugged and snapped his fingers. 

They laid on the bed together afterward. Gabriel rested his head against her stomach and she played with his hair. He sighed. “I imagine we’re gonna have a regular ol’ Winchester family strategy meeting today,” Gabriel said. 

“Probably. In fact, we should get back out there soon before they come looking for us.” Reluctantly they sat up, and after a few more kisses, returned to the library. 


	4. Chapter 4

Dean and Sam were facing each other across one of the library tables. Sam was twirling a pen and occasionally scribbling notes on a large yellow legal pad. Cas and Bailey were each leafing through books. Charlotte was lying on the floor under Sam’s chair, taunting Pumpkin with a crinkly stuffed cat toy. Melanie slid into the chair next to Sam. Gabriel sat on the end of the next table, swinging his feet. One shoelace was loose and he soon found himself playing with the cat. 

“Okay, so you and Cas are going undercover at the school,” Sam said to Dean. “I’m going to go to South Carolina and look into the rogue angel possibility. There may be some information in local archives and-” 

“Ahem?” Melanie said indignantly. “Kind of my thing. Why don’t I take that part?” 

“You haven’t gone on a case since the baby,” Sam said in surprise. “I didn’t think you’d want to.” He rubbed his hand across his face, trying to scrub away the memory of the last case she’d worked, in which she’d nearly been killed and that had inadvertently led to the baby coming into existence. The idea of her again working a case far away from him, that she could die and he’d not be there to protect her, made him feel sick. 

“First of all, this isn’t just some case. This is my daughter. Second of all, I think it’s probably high time that I actually get back out there, isn’t it?” She felt prickly; she knew deep down that Sam wasn’t the same as her ex at all, but it was starting to feel like she was constantly surrounded by men who didn’t want her to hunt. 

Sam rubbed his temples and let out a huge sigh. “Will you let me work with you?” he asked. “I’m not as good as you, but I do know my way around an archive.” 

Melanie softened and smiled. “Hmm, I don’t know. Look what happened the last time we researched a case together in a little local archive.” She leaned against his side and brushed his temple with a kiss. 

“Yeah I know, I think she’s tying my shoes together right now.” 

“You deserve it for being gross,” called Charlotte’s voice from the floor. 

“Gabriel is a terrible influence on you, Lottie,” Sam replied 

“What? Outrage! I would never tie your shoes together. I’d just glue your socks to your feet.” 

“So what’s Gabriel gonna do while everyone’s working?” Dean asked. 

“Well Dean-O, I do have to check in with Heaven everyday. And I guess I’ll have to take care of the kiddos and all that jazz. … Ooh, uh hey Mel, what about Ethan? You know, boobie time and all...” he scratched the back of his head. “He’s gonna be a wreck if you just…” 

“He’ll have to come with us,” she said. “We’ll manage. You’ll just be in charge of Lottie.” 

“I can take care of her,” Bailey volunteered. 

“I don’t even actually need a grown-up,” Lottie sighed, rolling her eyes. “Uncle Dean was taking care of Daddy for weeks on end when he was my age, and also killing monsters sometimes, as well as driving the car like a boss and having fifteen girlfriends at once and winning every freaking arcade game he touched.” 

Sam burst into a hoot of laughter. “Holy crap Dean, is that the stories- wow, okay. Wow.” 

“Shut up, Sam,” Dean grumbled. Sam threw a square pink eraser at him, and Dean tossed a ballpoint pen at him. They exchanged a few more volleys of desk items before Cas grabbed at Dean’s hand and gave it a squeeze. They exchanged a lengthy stare, Cas of exasperation, Dean of sheepishness. On the other side of the table, Bailey coughed something into their hand that sounded suspiciously like ‘gay.’ 

“Okay, so we’ve got some idea what we’re doing, right?” Mel said sternly. “Sam, let’s pack.” 

A few hours later, neatly stacked bags waited beside the staircase. Melanie sat on the steps with Charlotte snuggled against her. Gabriel was holding Ethan and kissing his forehead and his pudgy fingers. Sam stood nearby. 

“You sure, babe? That’s gotta be a lot of grace.” 

“Unlimited supply, kiddo. I charge up on the throne every day. It’s not going to hurt me. And that much driving with a baby would probably not be very fun.” 

“If you really miss us, Gabe can get you to us after school, of course,” Mel said, petting Charlotte’s hair. “It’s not that bad.” 

“I could just go with you.” 

“No, we want you to go to school, get rest at night, eat dinner at home, play with your kitty and Bailey… all your normal stuff,” Sam said, with a strained smile. 

“Hah! Normal!” Charlotte scoffed. Sam cringed. 

“I’m sorry. I wish I… I’m so sorry, Charlotte.” He felt the guilt in his chest like a lead weight, certain that his freakishness was the cause of her suffering. 

She squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile, though it did not reach her eyes. “Love you, Daddy,” she said. 

“Pa,” Ethan burbled. “Pa-pa-pa-pa.” He patted Gabriel’s face eagerly. 

“Papa’s gonna miss you too,” he said. “Here, Daddy’s gonna carry you now okay?” He passed the baby to Sam, who fastened him in the carrier on his chest. 

“Ready?” Gabriel asked, stepping back. Melanie and Sam clasped hands and nodded. 

In a blink, they were standing in a hotel room. Nothing terribly fancy, but far above the Winchesters’ usual fare. There was a king size bed and a rollaway crib. A tiny kitchenette boasted a fridge and microwave. Melanie peered into the bathroom. Clean white tiles and fixtures, brightly lit, and a huge tub. “Dude, I think we can both fit in this thing,” she said. 

“Let’s plan for a romantic bubble bath,” Sam said. “Might as well make this date night while we’re at it.” 

“Baah?” Ethan inquired. “Baah! Baah!” He wiggled excitedly. 

“Not right now. Later. Later, bath,” Melanie promised. “Sorry Sam, I think we’ll have to wait our turn.” 

They unpacked and settled in while Ethan played in the middle of the huge bed. Sam set up the laptop and scoped out the local information. “Hey, we’re in luck. The archive has evening hours today. Maybe we should head over and get started?” 

“The sooner the better,” Melanie agreed. They dressed quickly and headed out. 

The county courthouse was a moderately sized squareish building, in the art deco stylings of the 1930’s, not unlike the bunker that they lived in. They went up the concrete steps to the glass doors, then down the elevator once they got in. In the basement, they found the wooden door marked County Historical Society and went in. 

“I’m hoping you can help us,” Melanie said to the middle-aged man in the sweater vest who was sitting at the desk. “My husband and I are doing some work on family history, and we’d like to see anything you have on a community that was around here in the 1700’s. It seems that some of my ancestors might have been involved, and I really think it would be so nifty to… you know, get to understand them. Right, honey?” She poked Sam in the side, just under where Ethan’s leg hung down. 

“Of course, of course. I’m just having a blast on this little research vacay of hers, you know. Love this family history stuff.” He smiled tightly and ruffled the baby’s hair. “So important, to have that to pass down.” 

“Huh. Well you know, go ahead and use the computer and let me know if you want any files pulled. Or if you have any questions.” He looked at the baby warily. 

Melanie sat down in front of the ancient computer console and typed a few search strings. In just a few minutes, she had a list of files jotted down on scrap paper and presented them to the clerk. Sam strolled around the room, bouncing the baby and looking at the various pictures on the walls. When the clerk brought them the stack of files, Sam sat down and leafed through them with her, bouncing Ethan on one knee. 

“Do you know where this would have been? The ‘Sacred Grace Retreat’?” Melanie asked. 

The clerk raised an eyebrow. “Surely your ancestors weren’t from there?” 

“No, of course not. It just caught my eye. I’m curious, is all. Why- why do you think they couldn’t have been from there?” 

“Because it was a celibate community. Don’t exactly get many descendents that way.” 

Sam snorted. “No, I guess not.” 

Melanie snickered. “So what did they do there? Besides, um, what they didn’t do.” 

“Oh, your usual fringe religious cult. Some preaching about the end times, some charity work, plenty of trying to recruit followers. A little weird but probably not the worst of the type. Anyway, we have them to thank for the first non-profit hospital in the county. Eventually became Sacred Grace Hospital. Free treatment for them that couldn’t pay, no one was turned away. Big deal in those days.” 

“Oh that’s nice. Is the hospital now located where the retreat used to be?” 

“Oh goodness no. No one would go for medical care there! Nah, they built that in town. The retreat’s up in the woods. It’s one of them falling-down old relics, overgrown and… well I suppose the teenagers still go up there, but it’s…” he trailed off with a shudder. Melanie and Sam exchanged a look. 

“Creepy?” Sam asked. 

“Sometimes… well they always say it’s because some troubled kid decided to run off, you know probably went to the city or something. But a lot of times, the last time anyone saw a kid was at some party up there, and then no one ever hears from them again.” 

“That does sound concerning,” Melanie said. “So where was this place?” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a teacher and I haven't been in kindergarten in like 35 years, and it probably shows.

Gabriel had a dozen tacks carefully held between his lips, pointy ends out. He picked up a drawing and the small hammer and tap-tap-tapped the tack into the wall, holding the picture just at the top. It was a pencil sketch on heavy paper, very nicely done. Bailey had offered it to him when he’d told them of his need to decorate his office. It showed Sam’s face in profile, gazing down with soft eyes at the baby in his arms. The baby had been very small when Bailey had drawn this; scarcely more than a little nose peeking out of a blanket bundle. Gabriel smiled and picked up another one. This was a watercolor painting by Charlotte, done several years ago, of a very cartoonish unicorn. It had a strawberry-frosted ring donut on its horn, though it looked a little like a blob of blood with sprinkles. Gabriel hung it up anyway, thinking fondly of kindergarten-era Charlotte’s fascination with unicorns. Now she thought unicorns were babyish, and it made him sad for some reason, that she had moved on from that. 

He moved around the room, hanging the kids’ artwork on each wall. He was so absorbed in the task that he didn’t notice when Noeyiel appeared behind him. 

“Sir! I have information for you!” she said, a little too loud and about two feet behind him. Gabriel jumped and gasped, inhaling the last three tacks. He coughed and clutched his throat in a moment of panic as he whirled around. It hurt like, well, like his vessel was being stabbed from inside. Noeyiel just waited there, utterly unconcerned, while he coughed up the bloody tacks into his hand. He took a deep steadying breath and healed his vessel, then banished the mess in his hand with a wave. 

“Are you done?” she asked impatiently. “This is rather urgent.” 

“What is it now, kiddo?” he asked. He rummaged around on his desk until he found a watermelon Jolly Rancher. That should help. He swore he could still feel phantom tacks in his throat. 

“There are several things,” she said, shuffling papers on her clipboard. “I hope you have a few minutes.” 

* 

Dean adjusted Castiel’s tie and tucked the ends neatly into the sweater vest. “You really make nerdy look good, babe,” he said, taking a step back to admire. Cas’s outfit did little to flatter him, though Dean had twirled him around three times just to appreciate how the khaki pants hugged his butt. The striped button-down shirt was a bit too snug, having been borrowed from Dean’s closet, and it was very nice to see his biceps straining in the shirt sleeves for a change. The bulky sweater vest, also Dean’s, hid the lovely shape of his pecs and abs, though Dean’s palms still felt the memory of them from early this morning. The crowning touch was the wire-framed glasses. “I am definitely hot for teacher.” 

“I am literally going to puke,” Bailey grumbled from their spot on the other side of the map table. They ducked down in their chair, behind the laptop screen where they were working on their cyber school assignments, though there was a lot of tabbing back and forth to meme pages and cat blogs, and continued shoveling Lucky Charms into their mouth in spite of their claim of stomach trouble. 

“What, don’t you think Cas is handsome?” Dean asked goadingly, squeezing Cas’s shoulder. 

“Meh,” Bailey shrugged. “Cas is Cas.” They peeked over the top of the screen again. “He definitely looks teacher-y, though. Good disguise or whatever. You, on the other hand… are you supposed to be like a janitor or something?” 

“I’m wearing a janitor uniform, what do you think?” 

“I think you look like you just got out of prison.” 

Dean scoffed. “I look fine. Cas? Don’t I?” Dean smoothed down the front of his uniform shirt anxiously. 

“You look fine,” Castiel assured. He grabbed Dean by the hips and pulled him close for a quick kiss. “I believe that I am hot for janitor.” He gave Dean an exaggerated wink. 

Bailey groaned painfully and dropped their head to the keyboard. 

* 

Dean pushed the mop bucket down the hallway. Nothing needed mopping, but it was a good cover for wandering around and checking in every nook and cranny. Lebanon Elementary School was not very big, and it didn’t take him long to check everywhere. Pretty soon he’d have ruled everything out and could duck back into the janitor’s office to sit and catch up on his secret newsfeed of mommy blogs on his phone. 

Castiel, meanwhile, found himself assigned to substitute teaching kindergarten. Twenty eager little faces looked up at him from where they sat criss-cross-applesauce on the rug in the center of the room. He flipped through the folder of substitute procedures quickly. Right, he had this. Definitely had this. He was a celestial being, he had pulled Dean Winchester from Hell, had commanded armies and fought evil, had gotten between Dean and Gabriel fighting over the last piece of cake, he could handle twenty six-year-olds. 

“Teacher’s coat hook is behind the door,” one little girl piped up helpfully from the front row. “So you can hang yours up there.” 

“Yes of course, thank you,” Castiel said. He shed the trench coat, feeling a little odd without it and in strange clothes to boot. At least the strange clothes were Dean’s and felt comforting. “So, uh. Good morning, children. I’m Mr W- Mr Tyler, and I guess I’m in charge of you today.” They continued to stare up at him. “It looks like we start with circle time, but I don’t see anything about what the procedure for circle time is. Can anyone tell me how we begin?” 

“I can,” said the same little girl. She had dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a headband with a big puffy pink bow on one side. “First we have to sing. Teacher plays the yooka-laylee and we sing songs. Go get him the yook, Carter.” 

“I actually don’t…” Castiel began to protest, but a little boy had already pressed the ukulele into his hands. “Well I suppose I’ll have to-” 

“Do you have youtube on your phone? We could just watch youtube,” suggested a little boy in glasses.” 

“That’s not how it goes, Colin,” said a little girl with blonde pigtails. Castiel felt that he was very suddenly going to lose control of this situation. 

“Why don’t I just sing something a capella?” he said, setting the instrument down. The children stared at him. “That means without any instruments. Just singing.” The children shrugged and looked at each other. “Now, um. What kind of songs do you sing?” 

“Happy Birthday!” suggested one kid. “Then we can have cake!” 

“There’s no cake, Logan!” exclaimed pigtails girl. 

“Just sing something that everybody knows,” said the girl with the pink bow. 

Castiel thought quickly. “Well, there is a song that my- a child that I know assures me is very popular with all the young people today. Perhaps you all know it?” He cleared his throat and began to sing. “I hear the drums echoing tonight, but she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation.” The students squirmed in confusion, and a few children joined in on the next few lines, and by the time he got to blessing the rains down in Africa, the entire class was singing along robustly. Castiel sighed in relief, making a mental note to thank Bailey tonight. 

He was then guided through the steps of the wake-up dance and accompanying chant, and the handshake ritual. After that, he was told, they got to go to their seats for attendance. As they shuffled off to their chairs, the classroom aid arrived. This was all starting to seem so much more manageable. 

Castiel read the names off the list and prepared the attendance sheet to be sent to the office. He checked the schedule and passed out the math worksheets that it called for. This was easy. Now, just to count down the minutes until the children were taken to recess by the aid and he would have a short break to begin investigating. His senses were tingling with something being off in some remote area of this building, though he couldn’t figure out where. 

He pondered this as he explained the math concept on the worksheet and did some example problems on the board. The classroom aid was moving around the room passing out… plastic bears? Each table was getting an assortment of colored plastic bears. Castiel stopped talking. Then he watched as she showed the children how to do the addition by combining the sets of bears. 

“If you want to give them a moment to practice with the manipulatives and then explain it again, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble,” she said, patting his forearm. “And while they do that we can chat.” She perched on the edge of the desk, swinging her feet. She wore brown laced-up leather boots, high slouched white socks, and blue leggings and a baggy dark blue dress with a pattern of colorful splatters. Her face was round and youthful, her green eyes dominated by red plastic framed glasses, and she had red hair in an artfully messy bun. She seemed sweet and cheerful. “I’m Felicity.” 

“Oh, um. Cas.” He held out a hand to shake. 

“Nice to meet you, Cas. I take it you don’t usually do kindergarten.” 

“No, ah, I’m used to dealing with older children,” he said. 

“Well I hope I can help with anything you need.” She looked at him over the top of her glasses and smiled. 

“How very kind of you,” he said. He swallowed nervously. Something was odd about this woman, but he couldn’t detect what. He should have been able to determine easily if she was a supernatural being, and he had no hint of that, but she was making him uneasy for some reason. 

“Good morning!” piped a familiar little voice. Charlotte leaned against the doorway. He had thought of her as so small, but next to all these kindergarteners she looked practically grown up. At the same time, she looked like a small version of Dean, all confidence and swagger and green eyes and freckles. Her hair was pulled into a simple ponytail and she was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt with a fat striped gray kitty on it, and a pink and green plaid shirt. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked brusquely. “Shouldn’t you be in class?” Felicity looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, probably trying to figure out why he was being so nasty to a random kid. 

“I’m your friendly neighborhood fifth grade office assistant for the day and I’m here to collect the attendance sheet,” she said. “So if you could get me that, Mr Tyler, I will be on my way.” She grinned Dean’s trademark ‘I’m charming my way through a case and totally bullshitting you’ smile at him. 

Cas handed her the sheet, and he almost jumped backwards when his hand brushed hers and he felt the faintest tingle of… grace. That was definitely grace. He stared around quickly; no, there was no possibility that he could so much as have a private word with her, nevermind anything more. Felicity was already staring at him in confusion. “Thank you so much,” Cas said. “If your duties allow it, you should stop by the janitor’s office and let him know that I need… my- my trash can emptied, in about an hour.” 

Charlotte squinted suspiciously at him. “Okay, Mr Tyler. Have a nice day.” She bopped out the door. 

“I think the trash is fine,” Felicity said. 

“It is right now, but we are going to be filling it up rather quickly because… because we are going to… make collages! So there will be a lot of paper scraps to be dealt with.” Cas crossed the room and started pulling art supplies off the shelves and distributing them to the children’s tables. “As soon as you turn in your math sheets you may begin.” The children wiggled with excitement as the basket of safety scissors came out. 

“That’s not on the schedule,” Felicity said. “We’re supposed to do phonics next.” 

“Well I’m going off schedule a bit. This hands-on technique will help them… really underscore the math lesson. What we’re going to do is… cut shapes and then glue them together in a representation of the addition lesson. It’s important for children to get messy in the pursuit of education.” 

“Oh. Ooookay.” Felicity didn’t seem convinced, but she started gathering the math sheets and manipulatives up with a sigh. 

“I love glue,” said Colin. 


End file.
